In an episode of “Lie to Me,” Dr. Lightman compares people to the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies. The Monarch butterfly and the Viceroy butterfly are nearly identical and often mistaken for each other. However, the Monarch is toxic, due to its diet of milkweed, while the Viceroy is non-toxic. Because they are so similar, a predator often mistakes one for the other and avoids both since it assumes they are poisonous.

In this case, the Viceroy is known as the “mimic;” while the Viceroy is not poisonous, it benefits from looking like the Monarch butterfly and is able to avoid predators. If a bird eats a Monarch first and discovers that it is poisonous, then it will avoid eating Monarchs and Viceroys in the future. However, if a bird preys on the non-poisonous Viceroy first, then it will continue going after the butterflies until…

That’s funny. She used to like or post supportive messages on my Facebook page all of the time. Now, it’s as if I do not exist any longer. He won’t return any phone calls or messages now. I do not even rate so much as a thank you for a holiday greeting. In fact, I cannot recall the last time anyone asked me to meet them for lunch or even a cup of coffee. I overheard a group conversation the other day. Everyone was laughing and talking about the wonderful social gathering they had enjoyed recently. They mentioned sharing the company of many people I know. Why wasn’t I invited? I cannot remember the last time anyone has taken the time to call me just to say hello. I feel so alone and…

Like this:

I once questioned the point of the Upward Basketball Program in which teams played against each other yet no scores were kept. However, after watching enough high school basketball teams compete over the last 4 to 5 years, I have begun to reassess my judgment about the Upward Basketball Program. The reasons are numerous, and could certainly be addressed by a strong and intelligent unfettered by local politics and racial biases–a concept captured brilliantly in a short quote by Jackie Chan.

Sadly, while Mr. Chan is obviously correct, I’m not sure that most high school athletic directors or administrators, likely infected by the same political parasitic/symbiotic virus as high school coaches, care enough to “rock the boat” out of I tsnocfear of upsetting the delicate balance of the local political climate.

My personal experience has been that parents with the most offensive player/offspring did not themselves excel at sports (as I personally did) and are creating selfish offspring who care more about racking up stats, making All-Tournament Teams and being named Player of the Game, than they care about winning and will simply stop passing to more talented players with a “hot hand” to the point of losing a game so that another talented player will not score more points at the risk, “God forbid!”of being named Player of the Game or knocking them from an All-Tournament team, and, hence, disapppointed unathletic daddy–who is living vicariously through his offspring to the point of raising, not a well-balanced, compassionate daughter, but instead a selfish, semi-sociopathic daughter, determined to bring Daddy home yet another trophy he didn’t earn (unless cashing in political favors constitutes “earnings” in the wacky world of high school sports).

Apparently, I am far from the only one observing (and reporting on) America’s epidemic of parents, in a very unhealthy way for both parent and child), as one can read in the links below.

If you spot one of these “overinvested parents” at the next high school sporting event you attend, and you are fully armored, why don’t you try to suggest they follow the light back to their own reality and let their children enjoy the moment, while learning valuable lessons about teamwork and compassion that might just allow them a fighting chance as an adult.

Addendum: My daughter is a senior captain on the team l described above and has received scholarship offers in basketball (many dozens), tennis and even in rowing (a sport in which she has neither participated nor seen), ranging from schools in the Big 10 to the PAC 12, and I am not writing out of sour grapes. My daughter has selected the sport she will play at at the next level and the top tier academic school at which she will play.

Hours & Info

I am first and foremost a father to a wonderful Ethnic Kazakh teenage daughter, I am an environmental attorney, professor, Human Rights Commissioner, and deeply committed to ending racism (to the extent it is possible), eradicating bullying in our nation's schools and the teachers who turn a blind eye to the victims. In short, my goal is too make the world just a little better place with the time I have left. I have an interest in my daughter's Kazakh heritage, Central Asia and the countries of the former USSR. I am also a huge basketball fan and enjoy watching my 6', 158 pound daughter excel in basketball at the highest levels of amateur basketball with Kentucky Premier, a Nike sponsored travel team, competing in Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) tournaments. You can contact me at terryclarke@outlook.com with ANY questions or comments about my interests or subjects you would like to se addressed on my blog. Also you can follow me on Twitter at terryclarke76 or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/terryclarke76.